Easy Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole was inspired by the classic, traditionally served at Thanksgiving and holiday meals.
This savory side dish is vegetarian and also dairy-free.
It is a simple, budget-friendly recipe that’s also perfect during the year for family dinners or potlucks.
Green bean casserole is a classic, savory side dish that is typically vegetarian, and this recipe is also dairy-free and kosher.
It’s a cost-effective side that’s traditionally served at Thanksgiving and other holiday meals, but it’s perfect served with any main, whether dairy or meat.
It’s simple to prepare, so you can enjoy it at family dinners or potlucks with friends.
And green beans have nutritional value!
What some of the silly measurement expressions actually mean:
Drop – ¹/₆₄ teaspoon (or less—it’s however a literal drop comes out)
Smidgen – ¹/₃₂ teaspoon
Pinch – ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon (what you can grab between your finger and thumb)
Dash – ⅛ teaspoon (what comes out when you shake out of a shaker or bottle)
Tad – ¼ teaspoon
Dollop—a glob on a spoon (like with mayonnaise or ice cream)
Scant—a scant cup is almost a cup, just below the line.
Heaping—above the line of the spoon (teaspoon, tablespoon)*
Some useful cooking terms:
Sauté: Cooking quickly in a small amount of oil or fat in a frying pan on a relatively high heat that causes a slight browning of the food on the outside.
Sear: Browning the outside of meat at a high temperature.
Sweat: Cooking vegetables (often onions) in a little oil or fat on a low heat until they become soft and translucent (no browning).
Simmer: Heating liquid to just below the boiling point (has slow bubbles).
Boil: Cooking food submerged in water hot enough to have rapid, rolling bubbles.
Poach: Cooking in a liquid, or partially submerged, on low heat.
Roast: Cooking with consistent dry heat in an enclosed space, over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake: Cooking with dry heat in an enclosed space, under 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Broil: Cooking with intense heat from above.
Grill: Cooking with heat from below, typically over a flame or coals.
Braise: Cooking already-seared meat in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.
Blanch: Quickly submerging food into boiling water and then immediately into ice water to stop the cooking.
Steam: Cooking with vapor from hot simmering water from below.
Shred: Creating long, thin strips (not necessarily uniform) of vegetables, like in coleslaw.
Grate: Scraping food against a surface with rough, tiny holes that break it down into very small, fine pieces.
Zest: The scrapings of the colorful outer skin of a citrus fruit.
Mince: Cutting into the smallest pieces possible.
Dice: Cutting into small cubes.
Chop: Cutting into small (bite-size) pieces.
Julienne: Cutting into long, thin strips (like matchsticks).
Glaze: a thin liquid with high-sugar or high-fat coating applied to food or baked goods that gives a shiny look and adds flavor.
Fold in: To gently combine a light ingredient into a heavier one.
Al dente: Cooking rice or pasta to the point before it gets soft (is slightly firm).
Emulsify: Forcing two liquids together that don’t normally combine (like oil and vinegar) into a smooth sauce or dressing.
Deglaze: Adding a liquid to a hot pan after searing meat to loosen the browned bits (called fond) that got stuck.
Slurry: A mixture of liquid and dry starch, such as cornstarch or potato starch, into a paste that is used to thicken sauces and soups. One can use flour to make a slurry as well.
Roux (pronounced “roo”): is a cooked mixture of fat and flour.
Everyday pantry essentials to keep in your kitchen (suggested)
I have found that having a large selection of “essentials” is great to always have on hand in my kitchen and has saved me numerous sudden trips to the store or having to borrow from a neighbor, especially since I’m not really great at meal planning.
Seasoning and flavoring:
- salt (my recipes use regular table salt)
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder (I prefer granulated)
- onion powder
- sweet paprika and/or sweet pepper flakes (paprika is ground dried red pepper, pepper flakes are crushed dried red pepper)
- hot paprika, hot pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper (moderately spicy dried ground chili pepper) for those occasional spicy dishes
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves (for pumpkin flavors)
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder / beef bouillon powder (regular or vegetarian)
- onion soup mix
- onion flakes (substitute for fresh onion—3 tablespoons for 1 medium onion).
- various herbs
- additional spices to adapt taste to preference
Misc:
- oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
- coconut cream as a dairy-free cream substitute
- flavorless milk substitute as a dairy-free milk alternative
- cornstarch as a thickening agent
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (you can make these with your blender or food processor) for coating
- condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce
- tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce
- soy sauce (makes a great flavoring for savory foods)
We always have eggs in the fridge and onions, rice, and potatoes on our shelves, as well as pasta.
In addition, having some fresh vegetables in the fridge, such as carrots, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers (various colors), etc., can be very useful when putting together a quick but delicious meal.
Of course, if you barely cook, you probably just want to keep the bare minimum.
So, what is needed to make dairy-free green bean casserole?
Even if you don’t want to keep a pantry full of just-in-case ingredients, these are all you need to have on hand to make this recipe!
canned (or frozen) green beans, French-style
crispy fried onions
unsweetened dairy-free milk substitute (with a neutral flavor)
vegetarian chicken soup (made with vegetarian chicken soup powder)
mushrooms (fresh or canned)
onion
cloves of garlic or granulated garlic
all-purpose flour
salt
oil for frying
Easy Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
Easy, savory green bean casserole made without dairy.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces canned (or frozen) green beans, French-style *
- 1 1/2 cups crispy fried onions
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk substitute (with a neutral flavor)
- 3/4 cup vegetarian chicken soup**
- 1 cup mushrooms (fresh or canned), finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- oil for frying
- Salt
Instructions
- Place the green beans in a suitable-size casserole dish or baking pan, and mix in half of the fried onions. Set aside.***
- Pour a little oil into the bottom of a skillet.
- Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms, and lightly fry on a medium-low heat (until the onions have become transparent).
- Sprinkle flour into the skillet and mix to coat the onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
- Slowly add the vegetarian chicken soup while mixing, and then do the same with the dairy-free milk substitute.
- Lower the heat and continue mixing for a few minutes until you have a thickened sauce.
- Mix in salt to taste.
- Remove from heat and pour over the green beans.
- Top with the remaining fried onions.
- Place the casserole dish/baking pan in an oven that has been preheated to 400°F and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the casserole is slightly brown on top.
- Serve hot.
Notes
* Or just pre-cooked, French-style green beans.
** You can make this with vegetarian chicken soup powder, according to the instructions.
*** The onions that are mixed in with the green beans may get soft, so skip this step if you don't want that, and you can use only half of the onions on top or all of them if you wish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 186Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 515mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g